Twentieth Century Guerrilla Movements in Latin America. A Primary Source History

218 Pages·2021·2.672 MB·English

by  Fernando Herrera Calderón

TWENTIETH CENTURY GUERRILLA
MOVEMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA
Twentieth Century Guerrilla Movements in Latin America: A Primary Source History
collects political writings on human rights, social injustice, class struggle, anti-
imperialism, national liberation, and many other topics penned by urban and
rural guerrilla movements.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Latin America experienced a mass
wave of armed revolutionary movements determined to overthrow oppressive
regimes and eliminate economic exploitation and social injustices. After years of
civil resistance, and having exhausted all peaceful avenues, thousands of working-
class people, peasants, professionals, intellectuals, clergymen, students, and t eachers
formed dozens of guerrilla movements. Fernando Herrera Calderón presents
important political writings, some translated into English here for the first time,
that serve to counteract the government propaganda that often overshadowed
the intellectual side of revolutionary endeavors. These texts come from Latin
American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua,
and many more.
The book will be indispensable to anyone teaching or studying revolutions in
modern Latin American history.
Fernando Herrera Calderón is Associate Professor of Modern Latin American
History at the University of Northern Iowa, USA.

TWENTIETH
CENTURY GUERRILLA
MOVEMENTS IN LATIN
AMERICA
A Primary Source History
Fernando Herrera Calderón
First published 2021
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Fernando Herrera Calderón to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Calderón, Fernando (Fernando Herrera), author.
Title: Twentieth century guerrilla movements in Latin America : a primary
source history / Fernando Herrera Calderón.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical
references and index. |
Subjects: LCSH: Guerrillas--Latin America--History--20th century--Sources.
| Insurgency--Latin America--History--20th century--Sources. | Latin
America--Politics and government--20th century--Sources.
Classification: LCC F1414 .C13 2021 (print) | LCC F1414 (ebook) | DDC
980.03--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020058167
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020058168
ISBN: 978- 0- 415- 73179- 9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 415- 73180- 5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 315- 84958- 4 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by SPi Global, India
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Acronyms x
Introduction xii
1 Argentina 1
Montoneros 1
Document: “Grounds for National Unity
Against the Military Dictatorship” (1977) 2
People’s Revolutionary Army 5
Document: “The Working Class: The
Backbone of the Resistance” (1976) 6
Armed Revolutionary Forces 10
Document: “Act of Unity Between the
FAR and the Montoneros” (1973) 11
2 Bolivia 13
National Liberation Army of Bolivia 13
Document: “Communiqué #5: To the
Miners of Bolivia” (1967) 14
Document: “We Will Return to the
Mountains” (1968) 15
3 Brazil 24
National Liberation Action 24
vi Contents
Document: “Mini- manual of the Urban
Guerrilla” (excerpt), (1969) 25
Popular Revolutionary Vanguard 31
Document: “Letter to My Children” (1969) 32
8th October Revolutionary Movement 33
Document: “Manifesto of the ALN and the
MR- 8” (1969) 34
4 Chile 37
Revolutionary Left Movement 37
Document: “The MIR and the Triumph
of Salvador Allende” (1970) 38
Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front 41
Document: “The First Rodriguista
Manifesto” (1984) 42
5 Colombia 49
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army 49
Document: “Message to the President
of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos”
(excerpt), (2017) 50
National Liberation Army 53
Document: “A Message to Christians” (1965) 54
19th of April Movement 55
Document: “Bolívar, Your Sword Returns
to the Struggle” (1974) 56
6 Cuba 58
26th of July Movement 58
Document: “First Speech by Commander
in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz on Radio
Rebelde” (excerpt), (1958) 59
Document: “Fidel Castro Ruz Delivers
Speech During the Funeral Rites
Honoring the Victims From the
Explosion of La Coubre Vessel” (excerpt), (1960) 63
7 El Salvador 69
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front 69
Document: “Statement from the Unified
Revolutionary Directorate (DRU- PM)
Contents vii
Announcing the Formation of the
Farabundo Martí National Liberation” (1980) 70
Document: “Women of Struggle Front” (1983) 73
8 Guatemala 75
Revolutionary Movement 13th November 75
Document: “Who We Are, What We
Want, and What We Fight For” (1962) 76
Rebel Armed Forces 78
Document: “Proclamation of the Rebel
Armed Forces” (1963) 79
Guerrilla Army of the Poor 83
Document: “A Call from the EGP” (1982) 84
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity 86
Document: “The Coup d’état in Guatemala:
A Reactionary Maneuver by the Reagan
Government, the Genocidal Army, and the
Guatemalan Ruling Class” (1982) 87
Document: “Proposal of the Guatemalan
National Revolutionary Unit for a Prompt,
Firm, and Durable Peace” (1993) 89
9 Mexico 91
Popular Guerrilla Group 91
Document: “Resolutions: From Second
Meeting in the Sierra” (excerpt), (1965) 92
Party of the Poor 99
Document: “The Ideology of the Party
of the Poor” (1973) 100
23rd September Communist League 104
Document: “Some Political- Military
Aspects to be Considered in Preparation
and Development for the Next Revolutionary
Days” (excerpt), (1975) 105
Zapatista National Liberation Army 108
Document: “Letter to Mr. Ernesto Zedillo
Ponce de León, President of Mexico” (1994) 109
Popular Revolutionary Army 118
Document: “Aguas Blancas Manifesto” (1996) 119
viii Contents
10 Nicaragua 123
Sandinista National Liberation Front 123
Document: “Historical Program of
the FSLN” (excerpt), (1969) 124
Document: “What Is a Sandinista?” (excerpt), (1975) 132
11 Peru 134
National Liberation Army 134
Document: “Peru 1965: Notes on the
Guerrilla Experience” (excerpt), (1965) 135
The Shining Path 142
Document: “We Are the Initiators”
(excerpt), (1988) 143
Document: “Interview with Chairman
Gonzalo” (excerpt), (1988) 151
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement 165
Document: “Communiqué #1” (1996) 166
Document: “Six Months After the Japanese
Embassy Massacre” (1997) 167
12 Puerto Rico 170
Armed Forces of National Liberation 170
Document: “Communiqué #6” (1975) 171
Boricua Popular Army—Los Macheteros 173
Document: “Imperialists, Colonialists, and Terrorists:
Merchants of Misfortune” (excerpt), (2001) 174
13 Uruguay 179
Tupamaros National Liberation Movement 179
Document: “The Revolutionary Program
of the MLN-Tupamaros” (1971) 180
Document: “How and Why Did the Frente
Amplio Emerge” (1971) 182
14 Venezuela 187
Armed Forces of National Liberation 187
Document: “Letter to the US Ambassador” (1963) 188
Suggested Readings 190
Index 200
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project was accomplished with the support of several people. I want to
first acknowledge the support and patience of my editors, Emily Irvine and
Kimberley Smith. This project would not have been possible without their pro-
fessionalism and encouragement. I am also deeply grateful to Helen Cooper and
Yassar Abdulnasser for the meticulous copy-e diting. Thank you for bringing this
project to fruition. Too many people to list were also supportive and expressed
the need for this sort of compilation of sources. I also wish to express my grati-
tude to my graduate assistant, Brenann Hamilton, who offered a fresh set of eyes.
I am also indebted to the Department of History at the University of Northern
Iowa and several colleagues from other disciplines on campus.